Because there is no HW in Literacy 8 class, this blog will record what has been done in each class session.
Read this blog if you have been absent, then check in with Mrs. Mac.
Presentation 101
Monday, May 21, 2007
Standing up in front of the class is not easy. For many students, it is the most difficult school task of all. The culmination of the Change Makers unit is a 3 minute talk about the topic. A computer-paper sized poster is the only visual allowed. How to get through this?
Students learned by doing. Just part of the experience is the Talk; of almost equal important is the Listening. Although
Change Happens (Action Steps, Conclusion)
Saturday, May 5, 2007
The above image is a simplified version of a piece of Ephemera created by four students. Their Cause was to protest against a filter placed on student laptops with no warning, consistency, or explanation. When the group began the Do Something project they were full of indignation and fully intended for their Action Step to be carried out. They planned to send home a letter to parents of all
Change Makers
Friday, May 4, 2007
If you happen to follow the global Animal Rights movement, you might recognize the name of one of the two Change Makers above. These two names may, or may not, end up in middle school history texts in Australia and the UK, respectively, but Henry Spira and Ingrid Newkirk would be proud to be remembered for their passionate, informed activism.
The history of the U.S. is not lacking in Change
Actions and Consequences
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Now that our Action Steps planning is done, we realize that we must also think about consequences. Action Steps can take “the other side” by surprise. We discussed the fact that consequences can be very negative - Action can involve risk. The recent violence in LA, at the end of a peaceful march in favor of immigration reform, is just one example. In a school, detentions and suspensions are
Action Steps, Cont.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Although we have interesting and valid ideas for our Causes, coming up with Ephemera and Action Steps has not been easy. Today we started our group work by looking at TODAY in the news. First we listened to a short radio broadcast about the “mothers of the disappeared” in Argentina. After clarifying the history (this protest has been going on weekly for 30 years), we looked at the picture above,
